Quilling get-together

In case you have not heard, Miyyah (Miyyah@Kertas) is organising a quilling get-together.

Date: 3rd of October 2010 (Sunday)
Venue: KLCC Park, Kuala Lumpur
Time: 10.00 am

It should be a fun day and an opportunity to learn paper quilling from the experts! Unfortunately, I can't attend but if you're free do pop over to  Miyyah's blog for more details. Hey, life is all about having fun (most times) and learning new things!

Iris Folding

I thought I would try out Iris Folding for a change. For those who have not heard about this, Iris Folding is a paper folding technique that originated in Holland. It is done with coloured strips of folded paper and a template/pattern. You will need an aperture that fits your template/pattern. The strips of folded paper are taped into placed over the pattern, creating a spiralling design that apparently resembles the iris of an eye or camera. Although basic Iris Folding is simple, you can get stunning results from the choice of paper used. Just check online and you will see thousands of beautiful examples. Some experienced crafters have taken it a step higher and created very intricate designs that are a bit more involved.

To begin, I chose a heart pattern that I downloaded from Gemscottage. The most difficult part was cutting the aperture. It is possible to buy ready cut apertures of various patterns but sadly I have not come across them in Malaysia yet. Lay the aperture card over the pattern with the wrong side facing you. Fix to the pattern with tape. I cut the papers about 24mm wide (length can be as long as the paper you are using). Then fold the paper into two, using a bone folder to give a crisp neat edge.

Turn your card over to the wrong side and tape to pattern

Pattern visible through aperture, sorry for the bad photo

 After that it is a matter of following the numbers on the pattern. Take a folded strip and place on the first section, the folded edge should be against the line of the pattern. Trim each end of the strip so that there is a bit of overlap over the edge of the aperture, about 5mm on either side. Fix the strip to the card with small pieces of tape at each end. Work around the pattern adding the different strips in sequence until your design is complete.

Oops, the photo above is what I did in the beginning before I realised that I must add the strips in sequence ie do all the lines numbered 1a, 1b, 1c first, followed by the 2a, 2b,2c, then the third sections and so on. I peeled the strips off and started again but forgot to take a photo. Sorry!

All strips added, square piece of paper stuck over the centre

The small hole left in the middle of the design can be covered with a flat piece of paper in a colour of your choice. Once completed, you will need to stick a piece of paper or card over it so it is nice and tidy. By the way, you can either cut the aperture directly on the greeting card or you can do it on a separate card and then mount the completed design on the front of your greeting card. Now turn over to see the completed design.

This is what it looks like on the front

I will add some embellishments to finish off the card. Will post when completed. I think it will make a nice wedding card. Hope you enjoyed this and you give Iris Folding a try. It is quite relaxing. Don't forget to look at the gorgeous examples on the web, you will be amazed. Loads of free patterns available as well - thanks to generous crafters. Thanks for popping by! xx

Vintage lavender

I am so excited to share this card I made a few days ago as requested by my niece for her mum. Her mum loves lavender, purple, ribbons and lace. I looked through my stash and gathered up anything that fit this theme. I had an idea of how I wanted it to look but I don't always find it easy to interpret my thoughts. Imagine my joy when slowly this card was born! Its almost exactly what I had in mind. The image is a stamp by Hampton Art and the background paper and card are by Anna Griffin. I cut the oval and flourish with my Cuttlebug. I do enjoy making sweet cards (as you can tell) although I do like distressed and collage style as well. I actually like anything that looks pretty and I'm easily pleased! Hope you enjoy.

Thanks for visiting! xx

Sweet little girl

Here is a sweet little girl who's sure to brighten up your day. I adore this image which is a digital one by Mo's Digital Too. A joy to colour. I have used Prismas colour pencils blended with Sansodor. Take a look.

Sweet or not? Thanks for popping by, please take a minute to say hi!

Framed Art

Here is something I made for my sister for her birthday next week. I had the image coloured and selected the background paper but just couldn't find a suitable frame. Yesterday, I came across this decorative frame that I thought suited the colours I used. The frame is not as red in real life and it goes quite well with the image. I stamped on watercolour card then coloured it with distress inks. I also used Prisma colour pencils to accentuate the shading. The stamp is one of Anna Griffin's. For the first time I added props (only a bit of ribbon and beads) for the photo session - what do you think? I've seen some bloggers take amazing photos so thought I would try something different from my normal photos. Long way to go yet!

Thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment, would love to hear from you!

Selamat Hari Raya!

Selamat Hari Raya to all readers! For those who are celebrating, hope you have a safe journey home and enjoy the celebrations with family and friends. I can just imagine all that delicious rendang, ketupat and lemang, yummy!

Oriental cards

Here are 2 oriental cards I made recently. I do enjoy oriental themes although its hard to achieve the clean and simple look. In the first card I used a stamp from About Art Accents, stamped in 3 different shades of green. Added a little coin (sorry don't know what the chinese characters mean) but its a nice accent.

In the 2nd card I stamped the koi in pond stamp by Elusive Images on transparency (acetate sheet) then coloured the koi with irridescent paints. This was layered on a light blue mottled paper which I thought gave a watery feel to the card. Attached the acetate to the card with eyelets. I love the way it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you like these two cards.

I'm back

Hello readers, after a break which included a short trip to Singapore, I'm back to blogging. To Malaysian readers, a belated happy merdeka day (independance day) for yesterday. Hope everyone had a great day whatever you were doing.

As for my trip to our neighbour, I had a chance to check out a few craft shops namely Spotlight, Made with Love and Papermarket (all located in Plaza Singapura). The latter two had a good variety of scrapbooking materials but a bit pricey. They did have some amazing layouts on display so I spent a bit of time browsing. Spotlight usually have some bargains but unfortunately this time there was none. However, I did manage to check out a great ribbon shop as recommended by some bloggers.  Kin Soon in Arab Street (nearest MRT is Bugis) had a huge selection of all sorts of ribbons including my favourite grosgrain ribbon. Although bloggers said you could buy reels for Sin$1.50, I didn't see any. The cheapest was about Sin$2.15 but you did get nearly 20yds which is so good. As I was running out of the currency, I only managed to buy a few reels. Next time I go I will be sure to get some more.

The silver strand was really cheap, they should be useful for Christmas and wedding cards. If you love ribbons, it is worth a visit to Kin Soon.

I also have a sweet card to share. Don't you think this kid is super cute? I coloured this digital image by Mo of  Digital Pencil Too, with watercolours.This card will be great for children.

Thanks for visiting my blog and take care!xx